Growing Up
by TheMerriweatherMage
Summary: A continuation of The Restoration of The Volturi. Follow Aro and Marissa as they learn how to manage leading a relatively normal life. Children, hybridity, and general chaos ensues.
1. Chapter 1: New Beginnings

Aro smiled down at the toddler in his arms. It was hard to believe that a year had passed already. "Hi Hazel," he cooed. The dark haired girl smiled shyly up at him. "Daddy!" She said, watching his face light up like a beacon. She loved to make her daddy smile.

Aro's study once was filled with books and all manners of other important stuff, but that was long since pushed aside. Now it was filled with cute little stuffed toys and blankets, even a small bed for naps. He had to admit, having children really did give him a warm, fuzzy, kind of lighthearted feeling. He sighed happily, rubbing Hazel's back until she fell asleep.

Callie poked her head into his study. "Hey Da!" He motion for her to be quiet and her voice dropped to a whisper. "I'm going out with Cai and Dora, ok?" He nodded and she disappeared.

Callie had grown more over the last year than anybody expected. She had stopped growing at the child's age of six, but mentally and physically she was eighteen. In three years, she would assume the position of Queen of the guard and probably with her steady partner Demetri.

In three years, the small child in his arms would look and act like a twelve year old. Aro frowned, a deep rumble building in his throat. It seemed too short, but for a hybrid, it is how life was. Hazel moved against him, entangling her tiny hands in his hair. Her favorite pastime, Aro thought. Marcus had found that out the hard way but Aro didn't mind as long as she didn't pull. He let the growl in his throat die out, lest he keep his daughter from her rest.

Marissa didn't even bother to knock, sliding in his office like silk through his fingers. He didn't even notice her come in until he was nearly assaulted by the three year old Gabriel. He smiled down at his son, wondering how he had gotten in his office, until he looked up to see his mate standing there almost expectantly.

He gasped quietly. His senses were failing him; he hadn't even sensed her coming in. She smiled to him, picking up Hazel from his arms.

"Seems like the twins aren't the only one who needs to go to bed." She whispered quietly, Gabriel on her other hip.

"What time is it?" He asked, rising to take at least one of the children from her. She shrugged, moving away from his help.

"Late." She continued on down the hallway, kicking open the door to the twins' room lightly and laying already asleep Hazel down and hyperactive Gabriel down and tucking them in, kissing their foreheads softly. Aro stood in the doorway, embracing his wife tightly once the door had been shut.

"How late is late?"

"Well past anyone's bedtime. It's around two in the morning, Ari." He nodded; no wonder he couldn't focus on anything.

"Why are you still up?" She smiled, kissing his cheek, intertwining their fingers.

"I'm missing a cuddling partner." He chuckled.

"Alright, alright. I'm needed." He murmured, locking the door behind them.

The next morning would come with a wake-up call of their usual diet. It only meant that Callie and the others had had an extremely productive hunt, going after the criminals and werewolves of Volterra and reining in a bountiful group of prey.


	2. Chapter 2: A Missing Letter

Marissa was quite deeply immersed in reviewing her mage training when a knock sounded at the door. She ignored it for quite some time hoping that whoever was there to disturb her would simply go away. When the knock sounded again, she sighed, untangling herself from the floor and other substances to answer it.

"What. Do. You. Want?" She punctuated each word carefully, so as in order to get the point across that she was mildly amused and mildly upset at the interruption. Heidi flinched.

"I'm sorry, Lady Marissa. I'm sorry. But I found this in the bottom of the mail pile. It is postmarked last month but it's addressed to you and I thought you should want to see it." Marissa frowned, but took the letter and rather rudely shut the door in Heidi's face. She tossed it aside to resume her magic training and it was soon forgotten in the midst of her hard work.

When she was finished, she packed up her things, laying the faded scroll in a trunk and praying to the gods that she wouldn't have to use it but every so often. Reviewing mage training was not only difficult in terms of magic exhaustion and mage levels, but it was physically taxing on her mental well-being as well. She took the letter to Aro's study, knowing full and well that he was in the middle of a meeting with Caius and Marcus. She poked her head in the meeting.

"Issa." Aro stood. "Is something wrong?"

"The only thing that's wrong is the fact that this letter arrived a month ago and is now just arriving in my hands. You need to tell the guards to pick up the pace, Ari."

"You know that's not my responsibility."

"Then reprimand Callie; she doesn't listen to me." Aro frowned, nodding to her.

"Thank you for the tip, Issa love." Marissa disappeared into the library, setting down to read the letter. She slid the envelope open and pulled out the rather fat stack of papers. Obviously, this was not going to be some sort of leisure letter to read. This looked more to be on the business end of things.

The letter started off business like, so Marissa prepared herself for the worst. There were always requests from other herds asking to join the Merriweather herd via the bloodlines of the children of the sire and dam of the herd, being Aro and her actually.

_"From the Great Northern Healer to Hecate's Mage, Lady and High Queen Marissa Victoria Starling,_

_ Greetings and peace to you, your family, and your herd from the North herd in Greenland. _

_ My name is AnnaMarie North, married and mated to Maximer North. We are a part of the elder body of the North herd and bring to you our request that the Northern herd and the Merriweather herd be joined."_

Marissa snorted, almost impulsively throwing the letters to the ground, but the other ones caught her eye.

_"My dear sister, Marissa,_

_ I am a part of the North herd, married and mated to the grandson of Madame AnnaMarie North. Please, please hear our request out. We are a small herd, consisting of nothing but three elders, myself, my husband and our two children. We are unable to defend ourselves from any oncoming or incoming attacks that may or may never happen. I know it's been many years, Marissa and I apologize for springing this upon you and your family all of a sudden like this. We have two mages who were summoned into the battle of Kura Taka and bravely fought and I hear tell that you lead them as Hecate's Mage. It sounds fascinating truly, and perhaps sometime you could entertain my daughters with your stories. I know that Scarlet and Josephina still want to meet you. I have not heard tell of you in such a magnificent way before. Please do consider us; we seek not your bloodlines, or seek to threaten you for your positions of power, but please have mercy on our weakened herd._

_ Brooke North nee Merriweather."_

Well, any other requests would have been turned down, but Marissa wasn't as cold enough to turn away her own flesh and blood. Aro, however, might would be a challenge to convince, but neither Abraxas nor Madame Euryale would mind. Abraxas had practically raised Marissa and Brooke as his own after Didyme and Aristeo were taken. As far as the elder body was concerned, Marissa had just about free reign in the herd. She bounced up to the top of the steps, nearly toppling over Didyme and Marcus.

"Well someone's excited." Marcus commented dryly. Didyme snorted as Marissa flicked him off. Taking the letter from her sister in law and best friend's hand, she scanned through it.

"I thought you didn't want to expand the herd." Didyme protested.

"Oh that's not even the good part." Marissa said. "Look at the signature." Didyme's mouth dropped open as she did as Marissa asked.

"You're kidding."

"Nope." Marissa took the letter from Didyme's hand.

"How long has it been since you've heard from Brooke, much less seen her?" Marissa snorted.

"I haven't seen my sister since I left the herd to search for you and Aristeo. And I haven't much less talked to her since the night of the raids." She said, rocking back on her heels, turning towards Aro's office. "Catch ya later, May." She disappeared into the office as Didyme and Marcus continued on their way.

Aro was at his desk, nursing what looked to be a headache. He looked up tiredly into his wife's eyes, knowing instantly that something was up, but not having the energy to share in her excitement. His meeting had started at six that morning and it was now two and he was exhausted. "Care to share?" He asked softly. She tilted her head to look at him.

"Well, it's a business matter, Ari." He groaned.

"Can it wait a day?" She pursed her lips. It could, but she wanted to tell him now, but seeing that he was tired, she acquiesced to his request.

"Yes."


	3. Chapter 3: It's A Bad Time

Marissa took Aro's hand and kissed him softly. "You look exhausted, darling." He took her hand and placed it up again his cheek. He sighed softly, taking her hand in both of his.

"I saw the disappointment in your eyes, Issa love. Your sister?" She nodded, sitting on the edge of his knee lightly, watching him tip his head back to take in all the information. "They want to join herds? But I though you hated requests to join herds!"

"Yes, and I'll stay firm in denying the herds that want the bloodlines of our children. Brooke isn't interested in the bloodline; she has her own brood to worry about. She's just seeking protection, Ari." He sighed again.

"Invite them to Volterra. I would prefer, and I think you would too, to meet the family herd before we let them join, or rather induct them into our herd. Have you spoken to my father?" Marissa shook her head.

"Not yet. But Abraxas practically raised me and Brooke after you and Didyme were taken. I don't feel as if he would turn down someone he views as one of his own." Aro leaned back, releasing her hand.

"I trust you, not them. I'm sorry, Issa love, but arranging a visit beforehand would be nice." As if he were put on the spot, Heidi came in.

"I'm sorry, Master, but there's some people who call themselves Northerners from Greenland asking to come into the castle." Aro groaned again, griping this time to himself.

"Now?" He looked to Marissa who shrugged.

"Here's your visitation, Ari. Take advantage of it." He scowled, pushing her off his lap to stand, and smoothing out his wrinkled shirt and vest.

"You're despicable." He muttered, handing her the letters.

"I love you too, Ari." He turned back to her.

"I. AM. NOT. IN. THE. MOOD. FOR. YOUR. SARCASTIC. REMARKS!" He shouted. He instantly regretted his tone as tears filled his wife's eyes. She brushed past him, fleeing the room into the dark hallways of the castle. Heidi looked to Aro.

"Perhaps they should come again tomorrow, Master?"

"Yes, yes." He said quickly, following Marissa to a now shut and locked bedroom door. "Issa." He called.

"Go away." Came the reply.

"Issa please." He pleaded. "I'm sorry, love."

"I don't want to talk to you." Something inside him snapped, and he yanked the door open, grabbing his wife by her hair and tossing her out roughly.

"Then get out of my room!" He snarled, slamming the door shut behind him.

That night was cold for the both of them. Marissa spent the night in the library, curled up with a blanket, and Aro stayed in the room, lonely but mad as hell. Hell could have frozen over in the Volturi castle that night. Marissa didn't sleep at all, nursing a bruised head and a bruised heart. Although she love her husband's dominant and very primal side, that was neither and it scared her. She didn't scare or get hurt easily.

Marissa shook the tears away. She knew what was happening. It happened with Callie. She'd screamed at a rock for twenty minutes because she had tripped over it and hurt herself. But this, this was different. This was Ari's fault. He was in the wrong.

If it was a girl, she decided it would be Justina Lauren Starling, and if it was a boy, Jamison Mitchell Starling. Indeed, it was a horrible time to be angry at Aro, she thought miserably.

Aro was just as miserable, angrier at himself than angry at his wife. He paced the room hastily, not able to sit still. He knew this was his fault. He shouldn't have snapped at her. He definitely shouldn't have touched her like that. It wasn't the first time he would have shed tears over Marissa, but the tortured screams he muffled in his pillow the night before were ones of raw agony. He would have preferred to be taken captive and tortured again, rather to lay a hand against his wife.

_Of course, he should have heard her out, listened to her, and helped her instead of pushing it off to the next day and rather abruptly changing his mind like so. He was restless, in need of his mate by his side. Taking nothing more than a simple dagger in the case of danger, he head out to find his wife and apologize. Passing Heidi, he asked where he might find Marissa. When she replied that Marissa had gone out, he nodded, thanked her, and went on his way._

_ A quick search of the city told him his wife had seemingly disappeared into thin air. He checked with Abraxas and the herd but his father shook his head. Abraxas started to say something about the merging of the North and Merriweather herds to his son, but saw the look of worry in Aro's eyes and decided against it. There would come a time when Aro and Marissa would decide whether or not to officially initiate the North herd in, but now was not that time. Instead, Aro turned, thanking him for letting him know and continued on his way. He frowned to himself. While it was unlike Marissa to disappear, he knew that he had brought this upon himself. He returned to the castle to let Marcus and Caius know that he was going out for an extended period of time, as in he didn't know when he might be back. He packed more than his dagger and swords, phasing up into his centaur form and leaving the castle, leaving Volterra even. He warned Callie before he left about helping Marcus and Didyme with the twins. He knew he was a lousy father and husband that he would ever have to go searching for his mate._


	4. Chapter 4: Nightmares

_Aro followed her scent until it trailed off in a river and he followed the river to the ocean's edge, looking out over the cliffs until he could see no farther but where water met the sky. The water crashing over the rocks below looked tempting and he scolded himself for thinking of such things. He would know if his mate had jumped as he was so drawn to do. Still he looked over the cliff's edge._

_ "Looking for someone?" A cool steel voice whispered in his ear. He jumped, fidgety, losing his footing on the slippery rock beneath his feet and falling from the edge of the cliff. He gripped tightly to the edge, now in his human form, his hands ever slipping from the soaked cliff rock beneath his hands._

_ "Issa. Issa please." She laughed, peering over the edge of the cliff to look at him._

_ "You deserve this." She whispered kneeling down to grab his hands. But instead of pulling him up like he thought she would, he felt himself falling, falling, until his body crashed into the rocks below, instantly killing him._

Aro woke up with a yell, his body in a tangle of sheets, drenched in sweat and tears. He tried to stand but his body crumpled under the strain and stress of the day activities and his nightmares and he fell to the floor, wracking, aching sobs taking his body. Marcus was the first to come to his aid, but he stood in shock at the door, seeing his brother's prostrate form on the floor, taken with heaving shudders. Marcus had never seen such scars like the one's his brother bore, scars that were still an angry red that still bore testament to his time spent in captivity. He was almost afraid to touch Aro's shaking body, lest the other snap at him.

Marissa perked up at hearing a troubled yell from the east wing of the castle and instantly sprinted up the stairs to see what was the matter. Reaching her room, she found Marcus' frame blocking the doorway and judging by his stiff posture, he had no clue of what was going on. She squeezed past him, holding one hand to her stomach and knelt beside her husband, whipping the sheets off his soaked body. She looked to the bed and saw that angry claw marks ripped down the sides of it and claw marks railed the headboard. He was fighting his own demons, his own guilt in his sleep. She possessively wrapped her arms around him, kissing the back of his neck softly. She glowered at Marcus, "Get out." He fled the room, shutting the door behind him.

She pulled Aro back up into the bed, but he curled up away from her, hiding his face in his hands. "Ari." She said softly, wrapping her hand around his midsection. "Talk to me, Ari." After a few moments, he turned to her, pulling her close.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I should have never…" She laid a finger to his lips, looking into his bloodshot eyes, proof that the tears that stained his cheeks had not just come from his waking up.

"You're forgiven, Ari. I shouldn't have pushed you."

"No, Issa. This was my fault. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I shouldn't have hurt you." She kissed him softly, tasting salt from both sweat and tears.

"You are forgiven. You are my mate. I will stand by your side from now until the end of eternity. I made that vow." He sniffled lightly although that didn't stop his shivering. He nodded, pulling his wife close.

"I am sorry. I just… I didn't mean to hurt you." Marissa shook her head.

"I am not one to be wounded easily, Ari. I am a bit sensitive though and it's time you knew why." She placed his hand on her stomach. "I'm pregnant, love." He wrapped his arms around her, burying his head against her neck, his shoulders shaking as he could feel the agony trying to rip his heart out. He could have killed their unborn child in his rage. She wasn't lying though. He could feel the fetus move under his hand.

"How far along?" She rubbed his back gently.

"About a week." He nuzzled her, kissing her neck softly. This would soon grow into a more intimate kiss shared between them, interrupted only by the sweet voice of a child ringing out through the hallway outside their door.

"Father?" It wasn't his favored daughter, Hazel, but his son Gabriel with the purest voice. His heart nearly broke when he opened his door to see his son there, trembling in his presence, the blanket that once cradled him now too small. "My throat hurts." Aro looked to Marissa, almost helplessly.

She was the fortress in his life, his wife, his queen, and his mate. Marissa tended to everything regarding centaur affairs, including applications for other herds to join. (After The War on Kura Taka, many herds wanted to be with the herd that bore Hecate's Mage. And many were, though not as cruel as Dacia, after their children as brood-stock. Particularly Callie, who was regarded with high respect by all the guard.) But Marissa did so much more than that. Aro hated to say that he didn't have much to do with his children's life but he didn't. She had proved that yesterday when she reminded him to come down hard on Callie. He hated that he couldn't be all a king, a father, and a husband. He rarely had time for his own family, and he hated that.

He turned his attention back to his son, picking him up gently and carrying him over to the bed. He didn't want to cause much more trouble for his wife, especially not now, not with her being pregnant. She would murder him if she realized he thought that. She loved her independence, and occasionally she loved for him to dote on her. But he did it so infrequently that they were more business partners than lovers.


	5. Chapter 5: Thirst

She rose to take Gabriel from his arms, setting the child down on the bed gently. She checked his temperature, checking for signs of physical ailment. Finally, it hit her as she realized that even Callie had started her vampiric feeding early, and Marissa had taught her to hunt at around the early age of one year. Callie had, of course, started out vegetarian, and Marissa respected that. Many did, and the Olympic coven had proved that it could be done, even with newborns. But Callie disliked the idea of harming animals, something that had done her no wrong, and focused on one, keeping the county jails clear, and two, luring men to their deaths. She did her job well; she just sometimes forgot the little things.

Marissa looked to Aro pointedly. "Wake Hazel up, please." Aro cocked his head curiously, but did as she asked, returning just moments later with his still sleeping daughter.

"Why?" He asked, in a hushed whisper.

"I'm going to tell them, and you, what I told Callie when she was four. You need to feed."

He nudged Hazel awake, the raven haired child nestling up against him. "Already?"

"At age four, one year? Yes, it's quite the dilemma. But they're old enough to understand it, Ari." She picked up Gabriel and, with Aro, carried her children down to the library, stoking up a fire while her husband looked after the twins. She sat down on the floor, gathering her brood together, including her mate.

"You two know that you are hybrids of sorts, right?" The two children nodded. "What are you hybrids of?" Marissa asked.

"One part centaur." Hazel said, her brother piping up quickly, not wanting to be left out.

"And one part vampire!" He looked to his sister. "Grrrrr!" It sent Hazel into a fit of giggles.

"You two will be introduced into your centaur form and into centaur academy as the time passes, most likely around your twelfth year for centaur form, and into centaur academy in your eighteenth year. Hazel, your brother says his throat hurts. How long has it been for you and what does it feel like?"

"It's been about a week. It's like my throat is burning, like a fire that cannot be quenched with water. And it makes me feel weak." She said softly, twisting the edge of her long black hair almost nervously.

"Vampires have to feed differently, as you know and have seen. Even though you are part centaur, you still must take sustenance like a vampire." Gabriel wrinkled his nose.

"Do we have to drink blood like Uncle Marky and Aunt May? Cause I don't want to drink human blood. I don't want to kill anyone." Marissa shook her head.

"There are vampires called vegetarians, who feed solely off of animal blood. For example, the Olympic coven feeds solely off animals." She produced two rather squirming rabbits from behind her back. Gabriel lunged, his teeth sinking deep into the neck of the rabbit. Hazel just looked petrified.

"I think I'm going to be sick." She said softly, turning against her father's chest to hide her face. He rubbed her back lightly. "Here." He held out a glass for her to drink. She looked to it hesitantly.

"Is it human?" She asked, not exactly appalled. Callie had taught her a bit about the blood thirst and which types of blood tasted the sweetest. But to her, she knew what was the sweetest, the bottles her father saved for 'special occasions'.

Aro shook his head. It was from his private collection, a case of lamb aged fifteen years. He rarely drank, except on occasions where his mate was begging to be ravished. It was too small a drink to affect Hazel though. Even he had to drink more than one bottle for the potion of sorts to have an effect on him.

"Aristeo!" Marissa scolded him.

"It's just a small amount." He argued softly. She shook her head at him, letting Gabriel finish the two, rather drained now, rabbits. Hazel took the glass, tasting it first before draining it. It tasted sweet, like before. So this was what Callie was talking about.

When Aro looked up, his wife was standing over him, a scowl on her face. What started out as a comment in Greek, ended up bouncing between Latin and German in banter. He snickered as Marissa threw up her hands in frustration, then he quickly paled when she came back to him with a threat that if he ever, ever, ever gave any one of their children, including Callie, potion like that again, she would remove his masculinity. Aro conveniently failed to mention that he had given Callie a case of the exact same stuff for her eighteenth birthday, so he only retorted, "Oh, I bet you'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Aro watched as a dull red flushed across his wife's face, turning into a brilliant red blush as she turned to face him.

"I'll bite you." She whispered.

"You wouldn't." He said softly. "You love me too much." She snorted.

"Gods only know why." She muttered, disposing of the rabbit carcasses. Aro hiccupped in laughter, making Marissa roll her eyes. "Mr.-I-Want-To-Give-My-Four-Year-Old-Daughter-An-Happy-Potion." She knew that went way over her children's heads, but Hazel looked to her curiously.

"It's a case of lamb, aged fifteen years. It's not potent to anyone in this castle but me."

"Yes, and you've had quite a bit of it, haven't you?" Aro's jaw dropped open. No way his wife knew that. Hazel yawned, and Gabriel was already nodding off by the fire. She picked up the twins and carried them to their rooms, tucking them in and saying goodnight. She returned to her stunned husband. "You drink after your nightmares."

"How do you know?" Although his tone was serious, Marissa knew Aro was struggling to keep his composure, to keep from breaking down again. She knew it had something to do with the time spent in captivity, and that that specific case of lamb aged fifteen years was like serotonin to his brain. It was also a very powerful aphrodisiac if he was caught at the right time.

"I can smell it on your breath. You have to stop taking it so frequently."


	6. Chapter 6: Addictions

"If I didn't have these nightmares…" He lamented. Marissa looked to him pointedly.

"Ask Didyme to give you something for the nightmares… or I will." She took her husband's hands within her own. "Where do you think those violent mood swings came from?" Aro licked his lips hungrily. He was aware that he had gone through a couple of cases within the last year, more than he'd indulged in in his immortal life. He held out the empty glass to his wife.

"Then take it away." As much as he loathed seeing it go, if this helped his raging mood swings, then he would take the solution. Marissa took the glass and set it aside. With Aro's hands within her own, she could feel his tremors; she knew that he could not hold up under the pressure that his fellow kings were putting on him. Though she knew Marcus and Caius meant well, Aro would not be able to handle much more of his duties.

"Call a meeting with the others." He looked to her tiredly and she squeezed his hands lightly. "Trust me, love." He could hear the sternness of her voice, but looking into her eyes, he knew she was worried for him. He rose from his sitting position, his stride weary. She followed him, as he ordered Felix to wake the others up, and by others he meant Didyme and Callie honestly. Marissa caught her husband's hand as he stumbled, righting him quickly. For now, the others need not know of why Aro was so ill.

Once they had all convened and gathered themselves in the throne room, and everyone was situated comfortably, Marissa spoke up. "Forgive me for the intrusion in such a late hour, but we have some matters that need to be attended to."

Marcus snorted. "Oh yes we do. It's about you noticed your mate's shirk from his responsibilities." Marissa gave Didyme a knowing look, a look that silenced Marcus instantly.

"Marcus, Caius, you must realize that things are no longer the way they once were. You cannot, cannot strain Aristeo past his breaking point. I know that you mean well; I know that you were intending to train…"

Marcus interrupted. "He's High King. He has responsibilities that we don't. We shouldn't have to pick up on his slack."

"You trying raising three children and tell me different!" She started to lose her temper.

"Hey! I'm not a child anymore!" Callie whined.

"ENOUGH!" A rippling growl ripped from Aro's throat and Callie was suddenly quiet. He stood, giving a stern look to his daughter. "You, you maybe my daughter, but you have been given a position of power. Do NOT shirk from your duties, or do anything less than your responsibilities. Do not think that you will not be held accountable or be judged by anything less."

"It's not my fault!" Callie started. "It was just a stupid letter anyways!"

Marissa saw Aro's fists clench before anyone else, and she leapt in the way of his fists, the lash catching her off guard as blood stained her cheek from the gouges Aro had just ripped out. Although it hurt, she made no sound other than a huff of indifference. Aro snarled, lunging. This time, Marissa was prepared and easily dodged, sending her mate sprawling to the floor with a sudden yelp. He picked himself up and wrapped his arms tightly around her neck from behind her. She twisted from his grip, throwing him to the ground hard enough to crack his skin and shatter the marble beneath him. He gasped in pain as the cold marble flooring made rough contact with the back of his head, sending aching pains through his spine and body.

She tossed his limp arms back to his body, turning from him as tortured whimpers started to escape his lips. He suddenly was realizing how much pain he was in. Callie was shocked silent, pale as a sheet, and even Caius was starting to edge away from the woman they called the High Queen. "Marcus, Caius, Aristeo will not be attending to his kingly duties until he realizes that he needs to take care of his family first. He's not at his right mental stability to assume all responsibilities."

Marissa snorted when Didyme asked her if she was going to tend to Aro's wounds, answering quickly with a short reply of "Why should I?" She turned and walked away as Didyme's jaw dropped. She stared, puzzled, at her friend and sister-in-law's retreating form, sliding from her husband's hold to tend to Aro.

"What put a burr under her saddle?" Demetri asked. They knew that something was wrong with Aro, and even Marcus had said that their bonds were a little shaky. Callie knelt to her father's side.

"Da?" She took his hand, rubbing the back of it softly. The pain she could see in his eyes wasn't just the pain his physical body was in but also he was hurting mentally. He regretted it. He regretted a lot of things. He was happy, but sad. Angry… at himself, but overjoyed. His emotions were all over the place and bipolar at the same time. "Show me." She asked softly.

"I can't." He muttered, turning his head away from his daughter. "I don't know how." As they all knew, his gift was tactile telepathy, the ability to read thoughts by the touch of his hand. But there was a secondary ability to his gift, the ability to give thoughts back into the minds of people he touched. It truly was a powerful ability, to share and spread his knowledge.

Callie sat back on her heels. The slam of the door told her that her mother was in a foul mood and not to be trifled with. There was one that could help, but she might be damned for invoking it and sending Abraxas after her mother. She slipped away after pressing a soft kiss to her father's hand, and pulling Demetri along with her.


	7. Chapter 7: The North Herd

Brooke looked around the village, one that was built so very similarly to a home she had never forgotten. It brought tears to her eyes as she ran her hands over the well-built fences. No doubt her sister had a hand in the design of the village. She sighed, looking over the community, seeing the others, the Merriweather herd, milling about beneath her gaze. Everything was busy; fences were still being put up, tattered buildings being destroyed and new ones being put up in their wake.

She was greeted at the gate by two younglings. "Hi." Judging by the dark black hair and almost hazel eyes, Brooke knew that these were her sister's children. The girl spoke up first.

"Hi. Who are you?"

"I'm Brooke North. Who are you?"

"Hazel Starling." Now there was no mistaking it. These were Marissa and Aristeo's children. "Are you from the North herd? My grandfather says to let you in. He's talking with my mother now." Brooke nodded, and the gate swung open with the boy's help. She and the others, her husband, her children and the three elders came forth through the gates, hearing them shut tightly behind them. Although nobody stopped to stare at them, Brooke could feel eyes other than her family's on her.

They traversed down the well-worn path, Hazel and the young boy skipping around in front of them. They stopped in front of a compound and though there was no gate to otherwise keep anyone out, she could tell by the reverence the children paid to the surroundings that this must be the Merriweather compound. She was actually mistaken, when Abraxas came out to greet her.

"Brooke, welcome." He hugged her to his side tightly, welcoming her warmly. She looked around.

"I thought this would be the Merriweather compound." Abraxas smiled, shaking his head.

"Marissa does not stay here but every once in a blue moon. Welcome to the Starling compound." She smiled.

"Thank you. Your generosity is much to be appreciated. Abraxas, this is my husband, Riley, his grandparents AnnaMarie and Maximer, our other elder, Petra Euryale, and our children, Scarlett Anne and Josephina Quinne." Abraxas greeted the other kindly, kneeling to look at the twin girls.

"Hi." There was a squeal and they promptly hid behind their parents' legs. Abraxas chuckled. "Please make yourself at home. We are working on building you a home even now as we speak."

"Abraxas, that's not necessary." Brooke protested.

"Marissa insists. I try not to argue. She's pregnant again, and extremely moody. And I apologize for not having my son greet you. Aristeo is ill at the moment, and is staying in the castle down the road." Brooke nodded.

"His children, they are well trained. Give my regards to him, thanking him for his hospitality." She said softly, going inside with her brood. Marissa stood, her cloak drawn tightly over her face.

"Brooke, Riley, welcome." Her voice was hoarse, and her sister cocked her head curiously, but Marissa only shook her head, warning her not to pursue it. "I'm sorry, but I'm not quite fit for company right now, so you'll have to excuse my attire, for the sake of your youngest ones." Brooke drew Marissa aside.

"I haven't talked to you since the raids, and you won't show me your face?" She whispered softly, drawing off her sister's cloak, the stitches in the side of her face raw and tender. Brooke gasped looking to Marissa. "What happened?"

"Ari and I got into it."

"He shouldn't be able to leave marks like this, Mari!"

"He's half vampire, Brooke. He's strong. Don't worry about it." Brooke only raised an eyebrow. Last time her sister had said that, she'd left to find her best friends and not returned in over 2000 years.

"What's up?"

"Ari… he's not the man he used to be. Well, he is… but he isn't. He's changed. He's been in captivity. He's been abused and tortured. He's fighting an addiction. Hence the mood swings and violent tendencies."

"Addiction? To what?"

"Believe or not, it's a certain type of blood. It either drives him crazy or it settles him down."

"Ma!" Callie nearly dropped the glass she had been holding. Marissa turned around.

"Callie-cat, how long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to hear everything. I can help take care of him. Give him what he needs."

"No." Marissa shook her head. "I know he gave you a case from his private collection, and the answer is no, and if I catch you smuggling him some, you will be punished severely."

"I'm not a kid anymore." Callie protested. "You need to give him something. You can't deprive him."

"How else do you expect him to quit?"

"He needs it."

"Well, I stepped in front of him for you. Maybe I should have let him strike you." Marissa said, scowling, turning from her eldest daughter as the glass shattered in Callie's grip. For once, she lunged at her mother, bringing with her a wall of water. Marissa turned, her hand instantly freezing the wall of water so quickly that it shattered. Callie snarled. "So like your father," Marissa hissed. Callie grew angry, throwing a fire ball at the offending statement. Marissa diffused it with water and quickly slammed a magic binding seal onto Callie's stomach. "Piss off." She growled lowly, spinning on her heel and leaving the room. Callie followed her, albeit struggling because of the pain running through body.

"I'll do what I want!" Marissa turned.

"Fine! Do what you want! Don't blame me though, when Aristeo turns on you. You mistake your father's power." Marissa snarled, phasing up into her centaur form and jumping the gate.


	8. Chapter 8: The Perfect Storm

Marissa ran until she had no knowledge of her surroundings. Rain struck her body hard and she pulled her cloak closer to her body, knowing that it would do no good as she was already chilled to the bone. It was no longer the familiar Italian countryside, but deep in a dark forest, and she had long since forgotten from whence direction she came. As she continued on, she felt too late the ground beneath her give way, and she fell, still in centaur form, until she hit water, and the ocean roared and boiled, tossing her, beating her against the rocks. Soon after, she lost consciousness, the waves carrying her to the west.

Aro wandered the castle almost aimlessly, wondering where his wife had fled to in his anger. He watched rumbling storm clouds roar in from the west, rain beating relentlessly against the windows, like tears staining the castle's face. He sighed softly; the castle, like him, was empty and useless without his mate there, and nothing could change his mind about that. Demetri sensed there was something wrong and stayed near his side, never asking any questions just there. Aro could tell that he was worried about Callie, who was also absent from the castle. It was if the light of their lives was just suddenly snuffed out.

Surely Marissa would forgive him. He honestly hadn't meant to lash out, not at her, not at Callie, not at anyone. But that didn't change the fact that he had. And he had hurt his wife, not once, but twice now. He felt miserable, looking outside once again. If he weren't part human and couldn't get sick, he would have already left. Little did he know, his hesitation cost him many years of seeing his mate and one true love.

When Marissa woke, she had returned to her human form, her body aching and protesting as she started to stir. Red stained the sand beneath her body, and she gave a cry as nausea among other pains hit her like a punch in the gut. Her body expelled the child quickly, the weakling not even giving a cry as his mother picked him up, nursing the child against her for warmth and nourishment. Marissa, at this point, had lost a tremendous amount of blood, and she pulled the wet cloak tightly around her body as she stumbled to the nearest civilization.

She lost consciousness once again as she called out to the nearest stranger, his red eyes meeting hers temporarily before everything went black.

Benjamin heard the cry for help before his mate did and he looked behind his shoulder to see a younger woman sway and fall to the ground, clutching a bundle protectively to her chest. Almost instantly, he could tell she was not all human; her blood had a strange smell to it, an appealing one, but a strange one nonetheless. He motioned to his mate, and she nodded. He picked up the woman, and his mate picked up the bundle.

"It is a child." Tia said softly. "He is barely alive." Ben looked for a sign of identification but the woman carried none. He and Tia carried the two into their home. As the child opened his eyes, Tia was shocked to see that they carried a red tint to them. "Ben…" Whoever the woman was, she had delivered a hybrid child; perhaps the only reason the boy was still alive. "How is she not dead?"

"She is not human." He laid her down in their guest bedroom. "Tia, tend to her. I will see to the child." Ben had no clue, of what species their new guest was, or why the child or its mother was still alive. He heard a scream of pain come from the other room, one that didn't belong to his mate, and for once he ignored it. The child needed sustenance, and he scrounged around for what he could find to feed it. Tia was out moments later, holding two more bundles.

"Ben… how is this possible?" He looked to see, and surely enough there were two more children, a girl and a boy. A noise caught his attention. Their guest had risen, a wild look in her eyes. She stumbled, falling quickly from blood loss, the gem she had hidden in her hand falling to the floor. Tia quickly reacted, biting down to inject venom into the woman's bloodstream until she was sure that the woman would survive. Ben cradled the child in one arm and picked up the gem in his hand. Wiping the blood and sand away from it, rubies shone back at him, deeply inset within the crest of the Volturi.

He gasped, nearly dropping the gem. Tia looked up quickly, easing their newest member onto the bed, and saw what her husband had caused such a ruckus about.

"Is it one of them?"

"Either that or a slave. Judging by the scars on her face, I'd say a sex slave. A very prized sex slave to have had the masters given her this."

"It might have been stolen." Tia murmured, finishing what her husband had been looking for, bottles and some formula. "Though that's unlikely."

It took more than three days for their new friend to wake up, and though they expected visits from the Volturi's trackers, they received none. The children grew stronger with every passing day, but they could only withstand but so much. It puzzled the couple of how and why a woman like this could ever bear not one, but three children and survive the birth.


	9. Chapter 9: Ember from Egypt

When Marissa woke up, she woke up at an alarmingly dizzying rate. But she had no knowledge of where she was or even who she was. She looked to the black inkings on her arm, but had no knowledge of the language they were written in. She stirred lightly, a burning feeling in her throat that she wasn't familiar with. Tia came in. "Hello."

"Hi." Marissa said softly, looking to the woman. "May I ask where I am and who you are?"

"You are in Egypt, and I am Tia. My mate and I picked you up off the coast when you collapsed. I'm guessing you don't remember anything about your former life?" Tia asked.

Marissa shook her head. "May I also ask why my throat is burning?" Tia held out a glass of a reddish liquid, she assumed to be blood. At first scent, she lunged for the glass, draining it instantly. The scent drove her wild with blood thirst.

"We assumed you came from the Volturi, or were at least fleeing them. You carried nothing more than the Volturi crest." Tia held up the necklace, but unfortunately the rubies meant nothing to Marissa. "I'm also going to assume that you remember nothing about your human life, so you'll need a name."

"Ember." Marissa said softly. She shivered under the light dusting of a blanket on her shoulders, still too scared to move from her sitting position. "T-thank you… for taking care of me." Tia only nodded.

"It is no problem. Now, you arrived bearing gifts, children, three of them. Two boys and one girl. Would you like to name them?" Tia helped Ember stand, taking her into their living room where Ben was bottle feeding one of the infants.

"Um… Amaranth Lauren, Jamison Mitchell, and Justice Benjamin." Ember rattled off quickly, taking a bottle and one of the children, cooing to him softly as she fed him. She didn't know why but the names just sounded right to her.

**8 years later: Egypt… **

Ember stayed with the Egyptian coven for what seemed like an eternity, but they could always tell there was something missing. It was like some part of her had been ripped out brutally and she was still trying to find it. Sometimes they would find her looking out over the desert, her eyes blank and hollow and a light touch would wake her from her reverie, but nothing was ever the same.

Amun refused to let the hybrid from his sight, knowing full and well that the Volturi were curious about hybrids, especially the gifted ones. Ember was as her name suggested, able to create fire and disintegrate things, as well as have the power to make vampires drop unconscious for limited periods of time. She was a very valuable part to their coven, and he never suspected that the woman was unhappy with her time spent in the coven.

Years upon years passed, and with every passing year Ember grew a little bit more lonesome and a bit hollowed looking. Benjamin dropped the mail onto the table and looked to their move in guest. She never spoke, only did as she was asked and no more. She looked a bit more peaky than usual to him, and he knew that Amun's keeping of her here was probably killing her. She was quiet again, staring at the window with a far off look. A bit of travel would probably do her good, as well as the rest of them.

Tia found him packing a small bag when she returned home with the other three hybrids.

"Ben, we can't take her out."

"We have to do something. Amun is killing her slowly." Tia looked to the blank stared hybrid from across the room.

"Where?" She acquiesced slowly to her husband's request to pack a light bag for the others as well. He passed her a letter, the Volturi insignia stamped on the back of it. She frowned. "Why Volterra?"

"Volturi ball. They're celebrating Prince Gabriel's coronation. They've requested our family's presence." Tia looked once more to Ember, and back to her husband.

"Is she even well enough to make the journey?" He sighed.

"I do not know."

"Do you think they will recognize her?"

"It's been eight years, Tia. I doubt they even remember what she looks like." He finished packing the small bag and tapped on Ember's shoulder, motioning her to come with him. The others followed, and instead of taking their normal route, they chose more conventional methods to protect the woman that had called for help so many years earlier. They arrived in Volterra in plenty of time though, enough time to get suited up and have dresses tailored for the women.

Ember milled around the castle quietly. It seemed so foreign, so new, but familiar all at the same time. The art the castle housed was simply beautiful, including a room known as the Great Hall, which was empty and coated in a thick layer of dust. She touched the instruments lightly, not enough to disturb them, but just to lay her hands on something strange to her. A noise at the front of the room drew her attention and she hid quickly behind one of the alabaster pillars.

A younger man, with deep brown hair and emerald eyes entered the room. His feet tread lightly upon the floor, barely stirring up any dust. He sighed softly, kneeling on the floor, tears filling his eyes.

"Mama." A couple of tears slid down his cheek. "I don't want to become a prince. I don't want to give up hope that you are forever gone. Father has searched for many years for you with no avail. Please… please, if you are here, or if you are with Hecate, would you please watch the coronation ceremony? Hazel wants you there too, you know." He sniffled, wiping his nose on his sleeve. "I have to get ready now. Please?" He stood, wiping dust from his knees. "I'm sorry, Mama."

Once Ember was sure he had left, she made to leave the room, only to be interrupted by a woman who seemed familiar to her. "Marissa?" Didyme asked the woman before her, her eyes widening at the sight of what looked to be her long lost friend. The woman only shook her head, fleeing down the hallway at a near vampiric speed. Didyme sighed; it had been a foolish hope. Aro always said there was hope, but given by her brother's faraway look in his eyes every time she caught him staring out the window, or not paying attention during a trial, and she knew that even he had given up hope.


	10. Chapter 10: Suicide Attempt

Ember shivered under the cloak she had been given by one of the guards. The look of hopelessness on the young man's face, she knew what that was like. To have some piece of them ripped away and not able to find out any answers. She stayed close to Ben and Tia after that, giving her children the permission to mingle although they were now old enough to do whatever they wanted. When Ben and Tia left her alone, she sought out the solace of the terrace. A few minutes passed before she realized she was not alone. The young man from before had followed her out there.

"I don't mean to intrude, but it seems like you're not enjoying yourself." He said softly, studying her quietly. "What's your name?"

"Ember." She answered in a hoarse whisper. He cocked his head to one side.

"Where are you from, Ember?"

"Egypt." He nodded to himself, tucking the information away for later use.

"Is there a reason you're not enjoying the party?" He asked.

"Is there a reason _you're_ not enjoying the party?" She retorted quickly, covering her mouth up in embarrassment.

"Nein, nein, it's ok. My mother, she's been missing for quite some time. I miss her dearly, as does the rest of our family. You just seemed so quiet; I couldn't help but notice how much we are similar."

"Who are you?" She asked softly. He chuckled.

"You must truly be new to our world. I am Gabriel, Gabriel Vaughn Starling. My sisters are Calypso Gabriella Starling and Hazel Sophia Starling. We are the son and daughters of Aristeo Gabriel Starling, or Aro, High King of the East territories." Ember backed away quickly, nearly toppling over the balcony.

Gabriel caught her arm, swinging her to his side safely. "There's no need to run. My curiosity often gets the better of me and I'm sorry to have frightened you. I'm afraid I am much like my father. So please excuse my behavior." Didyme had tipped him off earlier that a woman who looked like his mother exceedingly so was in attendance of the ball, and it might do him good to inquire about it. Like Didyme, he had hoped for the longest of time that his mother might still be alive. But with no knowledge of the Volturi, that tiny strand of hope was slowly slipping away.

He let go of her arm and sighed softly to himself. "I'm sorry to have interrupted your time." He murmured, returning to the party. Ember couldn't shake the feeling that he was somehow familiar, that they were somehow connected but his mother? No way in hell that she was married to a Volturi king, especially not the High King. She sneaked in the throne room to grab a glass of animal blood and returned to the terrace. The coronation was in midst but she was wandering the halls, finding herself in the library and setting down with a good book.

She must have dozed off because hours later she was awoken to the sound of bitter crying, screams tearing from the throat of a man in agony. Curiosity drew her to the room, where she stood and listened for the longest time until she heard the slump of a body against the floor. She opened the door, surprised that it wasn't locked and saw the body of the young prince lying on the floor, blood streaming from deep wounds on his wrists. Knowing what her venom could do, she licked at the wounds to seal the blood stream, keeping an eye on his pallid face, and bringing him up into his bed, tucking him in softly.

She turned to leave, but in the doorway stood a raven haired vampire. His eyes were bloodshot and darkened considerably at the sight of her. She quickly pushed past him, his eyes continuing to haunt her even after she had left. Pure, raw agony bled out through his eyes. He was a tired man, one that longed for death even as she did. Ember looked to her arms as she returned to her room and to the warmth that stayed under her skin. Ben and Tia had taken good care of her, but there was something that even they couldn't replace. Ember didn't know who or how, but she knew that in her human life, she had had a mate, a mate that had come searching for her and failed miserably.

Aro couldn't shake the feeling that a stranger, a strange vampire no less had been in his son's quarters. But for the reason she had, he was grateful, looking to the scars on his son's arms. He frowned. Both of them were caught up in such awful, miserable states of being. He understood where Gabriel had been coming from, but to take his own life? Aro stopped hiding the scars on his wrists a long time ago, but that didn't take away the ones on his thighs or stomach. He needed, he craved some reminder that part of him was still human, which meant part of him could still die.

And the woman, she had reminded him so deeply of Marissa that looking at her was almost painful. He would have to remind himself to thank her later. His body was suddenly wracked with a terrible aching pain and he collapsed to the floor quickly, writhing under the pressure. He saw her out of the corner of his eye and she was in no better state than he. Could she be?

Ember gasped as sharp shooting pains worked their way through her chest and she leaned against the wall for support, nearly doubling over as they came once again. She fled the room, gasping for air as they became more and more intense. Aro quickly picked himself up, running after her, catching up in no time. He caught her wrist and pulled her against his body, ignoring her protests of surprise and burying his head against her neck.

She literally mewled in protest as his teeth found her neck. There was no mistaking it. She was his blood singer and there was no other like her. "Issa love." He murmured, biting down hard, finding the stream of blood and opening it. Ember blushed in embarrassment as he moved his body against hers, pressing her up against a wall firmly.


	11. Chapter 11: What Is the Truth?

"Y-you've got the w-w-wrong person." She stuttered, trying to push him away, though she wouldn't argue that the way their bodies fit against each other just felt right. His lips moved across her neck, finding her mouth and pressing against it softly.

"Issa." He moaned, his eyes raw with lust and sorrow. "Why did you leave me?"

"S-s-stop." Ember chattered, her body cold as she forced it to shut down. She wrenched herself free from his grasp. "I don't know who Issa is, but I am not her." She took off down the hallway and Aro after her. She nearly ran into Marcus, whose large form towered over her. She gasped and skidded to a stop, turning around to face Aro. "Please leave me alone." She begged to the approaching vampire, who had tamed his lust enough to take notice of her pale and frightened face. Didyme peered out from around Marcus, studying the marks on her arm. She looked to Aro.

"These are Marissa's work. It's a memory seal. Only she can undo it."

"No." Aro muttered softly, staring at Ember. "You have to remember! You HAVE TO!" He hadn't even realized he was shouting until Ember flinched. Ben and Tia quickly came to her aid, along with Jamie, Amy, and Justice. The three of them scowled at Aro, and Ben and Tia took quick notice of how much they looked like the Volturi king.

"So it was you." Ben said, hissing at Aro.

"I did nothing wrong." Aro defended himself quickly.

"You raped her! Used her as a sex slave for your Volturi needs!"

"Marissa is my wife! I did nothing wrong!" Aro stated firmly, his eyes swinging to Ember.

Marcus could see that his brother-in-law was ready to become hostile over this and he laid a hand against Aro's shoulder warningly, pulling him back. There were others, who could come to their need, but he saw as Ben and Tia did: there was a startling resemblance between the lady that stood behind the shaking woman and Aro.

"Why do you assume as you do?" Marcus asked Ben, who turned impatiently.

"This woman came to us for help in the middle of the desert. She had just given birth and had lost a lot of blood, so we carried her home. She proceeded to birth two more children and nearly pass out from loss of blood. So Tia took care of her, and by taking care of her, yes, we do mean envenoming her. She stayed with us for eight years until this Volturi ball. And you have the gall to try to rape her again. You vile bastard!"

Aro rolled his eyes. "Marissa is my wife. She went missing eight years ago, and I've been searching for her since."

"Her name is Ember." Tia spat violently.

"I think I know my blood singer when I see her." He took a breath in, his eyes near rolling back at the scent of the blood clotted at the wound on her neck. He let it out shakily, his eyes coming to rest on her emerald eyes, a little less frightened.

"You know, my father was right. The Volturi are nothing but cruel, greedy bastards." He raised his fist against Aro, and instantly he dropped to the floor unconscious. Tia turned.

"You bitch!" The other three growled, dropping down into fighting positions. Ember snarled, lowly, warning her to back away. "Or what?" Tia threatened. Ember cocked her head, smiling darkly. That smile that reminded Tia of a time that Ember disintegrated her meal after draining it. "You wouldn't." Ember shrugged, her hands lighting up with fire as she stepped over Ben's limp form, forming a circle of fire around them. She quickly darted out of the circle, stepping in front of Aro as Tia raised her hand against him. Tia crumpled to the floor in an instant as Ember's fist met the side of her head.

The three hybrids smirked at the couple's limp forms, the circle of fire disappearing from around Ben's body. "Tell me more." Ember said softly. Aro's mouth quirked up into a smile.

"Why don't I show you instead?" He asked, taking her hand between his own, and pushing memories into her mind. She grew still under his touch, only once opening her eyes to look at him and that was at the birth of the twins, but she continued on, far past any time he had spent with her, to the eight years that he traversed the world looking for her, even looking to Amun's coven, who she found out had lied about her whereabouts to the Volturi king. She huffed, letting go of his hand. He wasn't lying that's for sure. But although she knew she could trust him, she wanted her memories back.

"I want to trust you. I want to believe you. But as someone who has had their memory taken away, I need time. I need you to take it slow." Aro nodded softly, offering her his hand once more. Once she had accepted his hand, he took it, pressing a soft kiss to the back of her hand.

"Come with me." She dismissed the others to stay where they liked, and followed Aro to his room. He spread open the wide double doors and invited her in. "I did quite a bit of expansion in your absence… do you want me to call you Ember, or do you want me to call you by your given name?" She looked startled. It was obvious it had been quite some time since she'd spent the night in extravagance.

"Um…" she looked around the room, jumping a little as his arms encircled her waist, and he cooed softly in her ear.

"Issa love." He was overcome with joy himself, but she was right. It was like reaching out to a stranger. They were both strangers to each other. This time he would court her and court her right. He led her into the room next to his; what used to be the twins' room was now a lush and extravagant guest bedroom. "Ata…" He sighed, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "If you need anything, I'm in the next room over." With that he closed the door quietly behind him.


	12. Chapter 12: A Memory of Gabriel

_Marissa had been smart, smart enough to put a time based memory seal on her arm before she had passed out that day in Egypt. Of course, it was a bit cliché; true love's kiss would unlock the seal, effectively preventing her from being with anyone else but her beloved. But even she did not know of the affects it would have on her body, the reluctance to feed, the hollow blank stare, or the shy and quiet little mouse it would make of her._

_ She paced the confines of her own mind carefully, knowing that any magic inside the brain was dangerous and its effects could often be irreversible. There were always ways to feed the Other memories, but like any effective magic, both time and strength had to be put into it. Judging by the way the Other had reacted to Aro's earlier kiss, it would literally be a true love's kiss to break the seal. There was nothing she could do but wait and feed memories to see what would happen._

Ember could feel a headache coming on, and sought out the comforts of the satin lined sheets, not even bothering to change her clothes, but sinking into the plush bed and nursing one of the worst headaches of her life. After fitful streaks of pain, she finally fell into a deep sleep, not knowing that she was about to relive one of the hellish times of her life.

*_Enter Memories*_

_It must have been shortly after the birth of the twins, a time when she first started to notice the violent mood swings in Aro. She ran down the hallway as her husband's screams echoed throughout the castle. First to investigate was Caius, but the white-blond vampire acted as if he were struck with a paralysis spell, unable to move or take his eyes away from the scene in front of him. He could hear Marissa's footsteps on the stairs and quickly moved the young child away from Aro's grasping hands. He swore softly to his brother that he would never tell Marissa of the tragedy that had just happened, which would have been nearly killing his son and scarring him for life. But it was too late, for she had already reached the room to see Caius remove Gabriel from his father's arms, healing the tattered child with his venom, leaving only a small scar in its place. _

_She scowled at him, both of them. "Take Gabriel to Marcus and Didyme, and leave them alone." She hissed angrily. She cuffed Aro roughly on the back of his head, making the vampire rise up with anger, throwing a chair through the door, not out of the doors, but through the doors as Caius skittered down the hallway._

_"LEAVE NOW! AND NEVER COME BACK!" Aro screamed, his eyes wild with anger and blood thirst. Marissa stared at him in awe and horror. She had never seen Aro so distressed that he would literally order her to leave and never return. She raised an eyebrow ever so slightly._

_"Are you sure you want that?" She asked. He snarled again, spitting in her face as another scream ruptured from his chest, making him cower and drop to the floor, kneeling and covering his head with his hands. Low whimpers came from his mouth, and he flinched as she touched his shoulder lightly. "Ari?" He shuddered, the muscles in his shoulder rolling back and she caught herself just in time to dodge his hands, which ripped through the edge of the mattress like an animal tearing into its prey. The man before her was no longer her husband, but a caged animal ready to explode. _

_She watched from the other end of the bed as he panted for breath, his eyes coming back into focus for a mere few seconds, only to look around the room and see the disaster and destruction he had created in his fit of anger. Aro gasped for breath once more, his legs buckling under the strain and his eyes rolling back into his head as he passed out, his body hitting the floor heavily. _

_Under ordinary circumstances, Marissa would have caught him. But these were no ordinary circumstances. He had tried to hurt her! He had hurt their son! Aro would never hurt her, or anyone, so what the hell was going on? She approached him carefully, looking over his limp form carefully. His muscles were still incredibly tense, but relaxing by the second. He was out like a candle snuffed in the library (so as not to catch all the old parchment on fire, which was odd considering they used the fireplace)._

_Still she hoisted his limp form up onto the bed, caressing his cheek softly. He was warmer than he should have been given his vampiric nature, but that was of little importance right now. She needed him awake and coherent, but that didn't look like it would happen any time soon. She left the room in its current state, going to Marcus and Didyme. Didyme was tending to Gabriel, passing a worried look to her mate as Marissa entered the room. There were no words spoken but the unspoken question of why hung in the air. There was a small scar on the child's side from where Caius had healed him with venom, and several ones over his eyes, ones that destroyed his vision permanently._

_As a mage, Marissa desperately wanted to heal her child, but there would be no way to do it unless it was by a means of self-sacrifice. Gabriel would have to take temporary sight-restoring potions for the rest of his life. _

_Before the scene faded away, Marissa performed a magic seal to return her son's appearance to normal._

_*Exit Memory*_

Ember woke with a gasp, sweat trickling down her back. She threw off the covers hastily, trying to calm her racing heart. She changed her sweat drenched clothes and padded off down the hallway, to the young prince's room. Opening the door softly, she could tell that he was still unconscious, his face still paler than usual.

She performed the seal she had seen earlier with no problem, watching the pale clear skin fade to reveal claw like rakes across his face, raking down to his chin.

"Mother of gods…" She swore. No wonder the boy had wanted his mother to be at his coronation ceremony. He was too afraid of disappointing his father, though, he had been too young at the time of his injury to even remember the event.

She realized that she performed magic without having the knowledge of it and frowned, looking to the marks on her arm that they called a seal. It seemed to have lessened a bit. Perhaps magic meditation, perhaps this "Issa" she was called had some sort of mystical initiation or training process that she went through that would help remove it. The funny thing was that she had gone eight years husbandless, and eight years thinking nothing of the inkings on her shoulder, but all of a sudden this mysterious dark haired stranger shows up in her life and she wants to be rid of it? She had one word for this feeling that she loved and hated at the same time: Strange.


	13. Chapter 13: Self Sacrifice

Ember wondered if the young prince would take what she was about to give him well. For some odd reason, she felt compelled to give him her gift of sight. And for that same odd reason, she remembered some sort of old spell that would allow him to have her gift. She recited it carefully, memorizing the words quickly like a first language to her.

After running through the recitation, she touched his eyes lightly, feeling it transfer over to him and she collapsed near the edge of the bed, not expecting it to take the breath away from her. It must have been early morning because she heard him stir not quite a few moments later.

Gabriel woke up, his head pounding from last night's attempt. It was not his first attempt at taking his life, and he scoffed at the fact that his father might have saved him. It was usually Didyme's kind face he woke up to, but this time he was alone. He opened his eyes, reaching for the bottle of potion that rested on his bedside. He gasped, and the bottle slid from his hands, shattering on the floor, the clear liquid fizzling and dissipating in the air. No one was drawn by the sound; he often threw fits of sorrow that ended up with many precious items in the castle being broken.

He leapt out of his bed, quiet footsteps running to the bathroom to see if what he saw, and he meant he actually saw, like with his own two eyes, was true. His reflection stared back at himself in shock and awe, never before seen scars littering his face. He was reminded of the old fairytale, given his beastly appearance. Still he made the best of it, feeling like he was experiencing things like water and soap for the first time. He came out of the bathroom only clad in a towel, not expecting the guest from the night before to be standing in his quarters. He let out an unmanly squeak, making sure all parts of him were covered, but her eyes only stared right on through him. What was her name again? Amber? No… Ember.

"Ember." He called softly, and though her face swung in his direction, her eyes still gave off that same hollow look. She was beautiful, though her frame was hollow, as if she had been starved a great many times. She had thick dark brown hair and emerald eyes with a yellow ring around them.

"Prince Gabriel." He was unsure of how to address this matter, but it appeared as if she took no notice of his body, so he gathered up some clothes and retreated to the bathroom once more, coming out only once he made himself look presentable. When he returned, she was still standing in the same spot, her hands wrung tightly together noticeably near the edge of his bed. Was she the reason he could suddenly see without the use of a potion he'd been taking for near six years?

"Ember." He tried again. "Did you do this?"

"I had a dream, where you were my son. I don't know if it's true or not, but there's some sort of magic in my system that let me take the blame for something you could have never defended yourself against."

"My father told me I was born blind."

"He…" She stopped herself. That would be Aristeo protecting his son from the monster that he had created for himself by having an addiction during his children's early years. She reminded herself to ask the raven about it later. "Of course." She said nothing more on the subject, even though Gabriel tried asking questions about it.

He took her hand in his, noticing the tremor. "Did you give up your sight so that I could see?" He asked, politely, barely take notice of the small, almost scared nod that she gave him. He sighed softly. "How can I ever repay you for such a gift?" She rubbed his arms lightly; the scars from the night before still there.

"Just don't kill yourself." He was overwhelmed with a sense of gratitude. She had saved him last night as well? He felt ashamed to be in the presence of someone so gracious enough to save his life and give up one of her own senses that he, and he was no worthy creature, that he might be able to see again.

"Do you really think you are my mother?" He asked quietly. She shrugged.

"I cannot say. Although I have been with the Egyptian coven for many years, this feels like a déjà vu to me. Everything feels so familiar." He took her hand, walking her out of his room, guiding her carefully.

"You hesitated when I told you that my father told me I was born blind." He tried again. "Why?"

"Because in my dream, that was not how it happened. Believe it or not, your father is protecting you." Gabriel scoffed.

"My father cares not for me; his precious daughters are the lights of his life." Gabriel was suddenly flanked by two other male vampires that looked as if they could pass off as his twin brothers. "These are your children as well?"

The two spoke up. "I'm Jamie."

"And I'm Justice." They both carried the deep voices of grown men. "And our sister Amaranth, she's still resting."

"Am not, you pipsqueaks." The woman cuffed Justice on the back of the head roughly, smoothing out her dress. The two men exchanged glances.

"Well you sure took forever to get ready. 'You guys stay in the room, I'll get the boar myself.'" Jamie muttered, in reference to their old hunting habits. Amaranth crossed her arms and huffed.

"I'd like to see you in a corset and trying to wield a bow. It is no easy feat. Oh, here's an idea, why don't you shift down into a boar and I'll eat you myself?!" Jamie growled, shifting into a wolf.

"Be careful sister. I would hate to end this in blood."

"Enough!" Justice scolded, shifting into a bear form and growling at the two bickering siblings. "Excuse us, milord. As you can see, we are gifted. Amaranth with weapons, and I and my brother with shape-shifting. Excuse our bickering; it's a usual occurrence especially when we haven't fed."

Gabriel gestured. "I am no prince among you. My name is Gabriel. Please call me by what is my name. If you wish to feed, the masters will be feeding soon and I see no reason why you should not join them." The three exchanged glances.

"You mean humans? It truly is a rare occasion. Sometimes Ben and Tia would let us have human blood, but Amun. Wowie… he hated to give us human blood because it makes us more powerful." Once more Gabriel gestured to the throne room.

"You are my guests; I would not deprive you of anything less."


	14. Chapter 14: Marissa Returns

Gabriel watched Felix escort the others into the throne room. "Now… is there anything I can do for you?"

"I'll be fine with my children." He let her hand go to watch her feel her way into the throne room. He followed softly; he didn't usually partake in the feasts like the others did. He met his father's eyes for the first time in a long time, his own eyes zeroing in just like a vampire's, noticing everything, down to the obsidian ring around Aro's eyes. He sighed quietly to himself, noticing the horde of people in the room. Their smell repulsed him; he had been drinking animal blood since before he could remember.

As one of the vampires lunged for a small child (some say that a child's innocent blood tasted the sweetest), Ember leapt in between him and the young girl, savagely raining down blows on Santiago who backed off after he realized he wasn't going to choose his prey today. Ember snarled at him roughly, dropping down on all fours to head-butt him into the ground. He instantly dropped to the floor, his muscles twitching wildly as he fell into sweet unconsciousness.

Several of the others leapt upon her, but she cradled the girl beneath her, ready to attack anyone who dared come close. He started to move forward but saw that she had pinned one of the main guards Felix under her grasp. "Dia o vios mou." She murmured, raking her hand down Felix's face. Although he screamed in pain, Gabriel expected the scars to reform over, and when they didn't he was surprised.

"Enough!" Aro said firmly. The other humans were quickly killed, and the vampires parted to let him through. Santiago still lay unconscious, a little spittle of drool coming from his mouth. Aro reached out to Ember, kneeling beside her crouched form and taking the child. He looked deeply into her eyes, noting the clouded state they seemed to be in. "Oh Issa… what did you do?"

"Dia o vios mou." He cocked his head.

"Dia o vios mou? For my son? Then thank you." He sighed softly, his hand caressing her cheek ever so gently. "Issa love." He whispered, pressing a soft kiss to the tip of her nose. The others gasped; Aro had not shown such compassion since Marissa had gone missing. He held her hands tightly, within his own, letting the crying child crawl in his lap for support. "What say you? Shall we raise ourselves another youngling?" He asked softly, too quiet for anyone else to hear. She smiled lightly.

"Ari." While she couldn't see him, she could picture a simply dazzling smile. She felt him kiss her forehead softly.

"Call me a bad parent… but… I think Katherine Elizabeth is good name for the child. What say you, Ember Dawn?" She gripped his hands within her own. "My Marissa Victoria, my Issa love, what say you to my proposition? Will you court me?" She smiled lightly, running her hands across his chest to his neck and face.

"I will." She murmured cupping his face with her hands, leaning in to kiss his lips softly. She didn't know what had come over her, but it just felt right. True love's kiss was not a warm feeling spreading through her body, but like an aching fire that consumed her bones with agony. True love's kiss did not restore her body to its original healthy state, but weakened her even further than before, taking the last bits of luster from her skin and hair. True love's kiss may have restored her to her centaur blood, taking with it her blindness and her bloodlust, but she was so severely incapacitated it wouldn't have matter.

Aro caught her as she fell, ignoring once the child in his lap. Gabriel rose to take the girl with the amber hair from his father. Aro cradled his ill mate in his lap. "Issa?" He whispered softly, concern ringing through the room in his broken voice. She was deathly still, the only answer was the erratic rise and fall of her chest. "Didyme!" He called, panic rising in his chest. She was at his side instantly, looking over the damage with her magic.

Didyme was quiet for quite some time, summoning a scroll to write things down as she came across them. "Malnutrition mostly, brother. She is very weakened. You…" She called to the shape-shifters. "Did your mother feed at all during her stay in Egypt?" They shrugged.

"We were mostly raised by Ben and Tia. We do not know, except on the rare occasion of whether or not Mama fed."

The answer was unlikely that Marissa fed at all, but what had caused her to stop giving herself nourishment? Had a mating pull been affecting her long before Aro had felt its effects? Was someone restricting her food source? Aro stood, taking the body of his mate to his room and tucking her in the bed softly.

"What can I do?" He asked Didyme, who had followed him there. She looked to him quietly.

"Since it's unlikely that she will wake up until her body has been properly nourished, yes, you are the scholar. You will employ the use of Dr. Cullen and I will teach you about centauric healing herbs." She flipped the covers off Marissa to reveal some bruises and scars, some fresh, some not. "Perhaps her time in the Egyptian coven was not so welcomed as you think." Aro glowered at thinking that anyone had permission to harm his mate, but carefully replaced the covers and followed Didyme out. Gabriel was standing by the door and slipped in when his father had left. So it had been true. This woman his father called Ember Dawn was his mother. He didn't remember much about her, but now he had it set in his mind that he would destroy those who dared to lay hands against her. The couple he had seen before was safe, but there were others he supposed who wanted the hybridity that he and his siblings were.


	15. Chapter 15: Chimera

_"And from the bloodlines of the gods and goddesses shall rise up one who is even greater than his predecessor. And he shall be called the Chimera for like him there is no other. He will rise up in revenge and slay those who do him wrong, and there shall be a great mourning over the blood spilt in the sand._

_And at his command, he will have his enemy's enemies. And at his command, he will have one that is Mistress over the Elements. And at his command, he will have his own healer and magic user. And he will bring with him fire and flame, and all those who touch it will be no more. He will be the child of the descendant of Hecate and a long buried bloodline whose purpose is justice._

_He will ride his great equine beast into the throngs of battle, his only weapons at his side two short swords. He bears the armor of a great, for one so small, but he will transform into something great. And he will have the power of a wild beast. He will shake his mane and his foes will tremble. He will bare his teeth and those to become his victims will cower in fear. With his claws he will slay tens upon thousands of enemies. He is the Chimera, and none will stand in his way._

_He will ascend past anything his siblings or parents could aspire to be and the one who slays his family will have the curse of an eternity upon his head. For the Chimera will stop at nothing to defend and take vengeance for the ones he cherishes. He is the Chimera, and there is none like him, no, not one." –_ Mythological Creatures by Athenadora Volturi, A.D. 51 approx.

With revenge set in his heart, Gabriel left the room, his head no longer down but held high. Even Caius noticed a change in his nephew's behavior, the stride once weak now held intent and purpose. There was an angry cold glint in his eyes as he walked past the throne room, barely tossing a glance in the blonde's direction. Hazel sensed there was something wrong, and got up from her throne to follow her brother's retreating back. Callie was intrigued by Hazel's curiosity and followed as well. They too had not missed the scene between Aro and Marissa's limp form.

"Don't follow me." Gabriel ordered, hearing his siblings' footsteps in the corridor.

"But where are you going?" Hazel asked softly. Gabriel snorted.

"There is no where I am going in particular. I am going to slay those who had defiled my mother."

"We're talking full-fledged vampires here, Gabe. You can't go alone." He turned to face her.

"Whether you come or not isn't my responsibility. Do as you wish. I have a fight to prepare for." Jamison and Justice were already phased up into their werewolf forms, decked with ornate wolf armor, and Amaranth beside them, a fire based armor sitting on her shoulders.

"You won't go alone, brother." They said in unison. He looked to them. Apparently he had no choice.

"Fine." They went down to the armory together, he pulling his special made armor from the cabinet. Not even the blacksmith knew of his true form.

"Little big isn't it, little brother?" Callie teased, pulling on her centaur armor as Hazel did the same. He ignored the jest, pulling on the armor which flanked longer than his height and build. He sheathed his twin rapiers, grabbing a lance from the cabinet. "Do you intend to slaughter the town, dear brother?" The question was asked in joke, with quite a serious undertone.

"I intend to slaughter all who oppose me." Gabriel replied curtly. He briefly heard one of the werewolves whisper, "Remind me not to get on his bad side." He finished suiting up quickly, calling for two horses that the others had never seen before.

"Ap, Equinox." He called to the horse, swinging himself up with great skill. Amaranth looked to the horse, leaping up to his back. They stood about as tall as the werewolf twins, a good seven feet and gaining.

Hazel was shoulder to shoulder with a werewolf and older sister Callie. She held her head high too. Gabriel urged his horse into a run and the others followed. The journey was quick for them and easy, and he gathered his loyal siblings into a herd as they approached the Egyptian coven's home by nightfall.

"What you about to see… you will repeat it to no one until the time is right." Gabriel said softly, stepping down from Equinox. "You will not join me. Not unless I need you, and I can assure you that I will not." Callie made a face at Gabriel's retreating back.

"What does he have that we don't? What makes him think he's so high and mighty?" She snapped, watching him tear into the threshold of the house. There was a mighty roar from inside the house and a scream followed by the sound of vampires being torn apart.

Hazel raised an eyebrow but said nothing. When Gabriel came out of the house, holding the head of the coven head Amun between his teeth, they were suddenly aware that nothing, nothing they could ever wield or control would ever compare to the form that Gabriel stood in now.

He stood taller than the horse, at about eight or nine feet, with the legs and tail of a wolf, the arms and body of a bear, the jaw and teeth of a lion, the head of a buffalo, and the mane of the horse. He glowered, dropping the head from his jaw, as blood trickled down his chin. He growled and behind him the bodies of the coven dropped to the floor. Callie gasped.

"Haze! I read about him in one of Aunt Athenadora's book on mythological creatures." Hazel scoffed.

"Sure. He's our brother. Not some creature from a book." Callie turned to her ignorant sister.

"You know, centaurs, vampires, and werewolves come from books too."


	16. Chapter 16: Ignorance is Bliss

"Good gods..." Justice swore softly, watching the bodies that were decapitated so quickly that the bodily functions were still working, muscles spamming and twitching. He didn't even need to look at the house walls to know that they were as drenched in blood as the beast before him was. This was no longer a confrontation, but pure carnage. Gabriel looked to be some kind of damned monster. Justice watched as Gabriel jerked Benjamin and Tia along with what stemmed to be invisible chains. They were still alive and Benjamin was holding Amun's remains in his arms.

"You will serve the Volturi." Gabriel glowered.

"We will," they both said softly, too terrified to do anything else.

"You..." He pointed to Ben. "You will serve under my control. You will serve as general grand master of the elements, and you," he pointed to Tia, "You will work with Heidi and the other hunters to aid in capturing prey to satiate our thirsts."

Gone was the sweet, innocent Gabriel. Here stood a beast so terrifying, his eyes gleamed red instead of their usual emerald. He was no longer a child, but a grown man, one that would strike fear into the hearts of thousands. As such, he had made up his mind that he would be no longer treated like a child as well, nor a spoiled prince whose attitude more oft than not got the best of him. He was Prince Gabriel Starling of the Volturi, and Captain of the Volturi Guard and he would no longer take any insolence!

Their journey back was quick and quiet. Gabriel has since returned to normal although it seemed something was off. He returned to his mother's side, giving a hateful glare to the Cullen in the room. Aro looked to his son, surprised to see the red ring around his eyes. Since when did Gabriel feed on humans? When he spoke, Aro was amazed to hear him, his voice so deep and rich that it stunned him momentarily.

"What. Are. You. Doing?" He enunciated each word clearly and pointedly, so much like his mother... And so much like the hatred she too bore for Dr. Cullen. Carlisle frowned, ignoring him for the meantime, continuing on to set up a feeding tube.

"Your mother is malnourished. I'm setting up a feeding tube." Curiosity burned in Gabriel's eyes, but he pressed him no further. He could not be but so hostile towards the man for he was aiding his mother. He sorted, drawing his attention away from the scene and towards his father.

"There's a fire burning on the back towers." Aro frowned. Why would Gabriel tell him this? Was he not capable of putting it out himself? Did his son truly thinkit necessary to draw him from his ill mate's side? How dare he!

"Why don't you put it out yourself then? Are ye not capable of a water bucket? Have you not the means to do so and the strength to fight it?"

"Tis not a dragon. For I will not put out a fire that I have ordered to be lit." Aro grew annoyed quickly and left to see what his son had ordered now. He quickly retreated to the back towers, and the scene before him... Well, his knees went weak at the scene. Impaled on stakes and still alive but burning, were the two Egyptian vampires, Benjamin and Tia, the already decomposing coven head between them. Their mouths were sewn shut so they could not speak, but helpless whimpers ripped from their throats, and their eyes were gouged out, leaving black, gaping holes in their skulls. Aro was horrified at the brutality, losing the contents of his stomach in the few seconds he watched the scene unfold. There was still time though, to gather information and after he doused the fire, he cut the strong threads with a silver dagger. But he had miscalculated.

"Who is he that has done this to you?" He asked, but it was too late. Their bodies merely crumpled into ash. Aro stared at the piles before him, slowly comprehending that his son, that quiet Gabriel had done this. Aro returned to his room, quiet now. "You?"

"I did what needed to be done." Gabriel said curtly.

"The entire coven?" Aro asked. How? How was that possible? Was this man not his son? Was his son gifted by some chance of nature? "How?"

"Because I am my mother's and father's child." He answered, his voice tart... And strained. Clearly there was something he was hiding and as Aro reached for his son's hand, Gabriel flinched away. "You touch me and I swear, I will do to you ten thousand times worse!"

"That's not possible!" Aro snapped. Gabriel stood.

"I am the one of the prophecy. The child of Hecate's descendants and a long buried bloodline of justice."

"There is no prophecy!" Aro yelled. "You are my son, are you not? You are not gifted!" Gabriel growled, turning on his heel and storming out. Carlisle frowned.

"His eyes have changed, have they not, Aro?" He said softly, tending to Marissa. "Ou shouldn't come down so hard on him, master. He's not a child anymore." Aro didn't speak in retaliation quite yet, heeding his friend's words and trying to gauge why his son had reacted in such a manner. Carlisle was right; something had changed.

Athenadora watched from the doorway, studying her brother-in-law's confusion. If she had though the vision, the prophecy would ever come true, she would have told Aro a long time ago. Of course, she herself was still writing it, still working on the finer details of it. It spoke of a creature, a chimera, one power that all creatures would fear, that all creatures alike would be subject under. He would be the child of a goddess and that of a buried bloodline called justice seeker.

The Starling family had always been a faction of the Merriweather herd since before any of its living descendants could recall. There was once a time when the herds split, where Starling went to Rome and Merriweather stayed in Greece, and it was quite short lived. There was once a time, the rebuilding of the Starling herd, when the bloodline had almost ceased to exist, had it not been for the one small child, a young boy by the name of Bristol, who survived the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius which buried the city of Pompeii under ash and stone.

He had turned into the Rock Mage, and he would later sire Bryon to sire Armand to sire Abraxas I to sire Abraxas II who in turn outlives his ancestors by thousands of years. He sired Aristeo to sire Gabriel, Justice, and Jamison, only one of which would become the chimera, but it made sense that it would be the abandoned son.

But save for Callie who had actually read the book, only Athenadora, not even Caius, only Athenadora knew about the prophecy, but there was no way for Aro to have knowledge of it.


	17. Chapter 17: Awakening

"Brother?" Athenadora ventured. Aro looked up and she could see the tiredness in his eyes. She almost didn't want to bother him or his mate. So much, her brother had been through so much trouble and tiredness in the last years. True, he was a better man than once he used to be, but he had gone through too much to get there.

She watched as the mage's eyes fluttered open. "Ari." Came the hoarse whisper from her mouth and Athenadora decided that this was not a moment she would ruin by telling them about the chimera. She could only imagine the pain that Marissa had been through because of their love. Aro buried his head against the bed, his shoulders shaking lightly. Athenadora left the room, finding Gabriel standing out on his balcony.

"Gabe…" He didn't turn, but his whole body tensed, a testament to what he had just been through.

"It is not wise to be in my company right now, Queen Athenadora."

"Gabriel, look at me." As he turned, she could see that what he had done already haunted him. "I know what happened, young prince. It's long been foreseen."

"What? That I'm a monster? It's no wonder my mother left that she couldn't stand the sight of me. I'm nothing but a beast."

"Sweetheart, the day your mother left, Aro left a greater wound in her heart than the marks on your face. He was fighting himself. Of course she loves you. She's your mother. Nothing changes a mother's love. Did she not give up her sight so that you may see again?"

"Then why?" He gestured to his face. "I'm a beast!"

"Ata… have you taken a good look at your mother's face lately? Surely she bears the same marks you do." Gabriel stood. He wanted to see if his aunt was right. "Marissa has many scars, Gabriel. Ask her to show you her centaur form sometime and tell me if I'm wrong. She's seen many a great battle, including trying to rescue your father when he was younger. Why don't you ask her to tell that story? Hm?" Athenadora turned to see Hazel and Callie in the doorway.

"Does Aro know you're a prophet?" Athenadora only shook her head. "Does Caius even know? You've predicted this years upon years ago before you even knew that my mother existed. Well, you knew she existed but you didn't know who she was? Is there anything else that this book speaks of that is prophecy?" Callie asked, not accusingly, but curious.

"Why don't you ask your mother? She knows more about your father than your father knows about himself. But take the book with you."

"She's awake? How?"

"She's a mage. She'd wake up in her own time. Nothing Carlisle could do would change that. You know she despises him. Rather wake and be in pain, than sleep it off and have him taking care of her."

"He's doctor." Hazel said, confused.

"And she's a stubborn ass. Healers are what she prefers." Athenadora said. "Have you not noticed it?"

"Didyme. She prefers Didyme."

"She prefers someone who knows what she likes." As if on cue, Carlisle came limping through the doorway.

"I don't understand how she can be so strong when she's so weak." He muttered, nursing a rake down his leg. Athenadora looked to him but said nothing. Carlisle only proved her point. Of course the entire book was a prophecy. There were many more to come, including one of the kings falling deathly ill by lack of proper nourishment. All she knew is that it wasn't Aro and that left either Caius or Marcus and she was prepared for the issue. Athenadora was one smart cookie, smarter than she let on, especially since Aro had no knowledge of her giftedness.

"Is Didyme with her now?" She asked simply.

"No, and I don't understand why anyone would want to." Carlisle muttered. Unfortunately for him, all in the room had heard his lackluster comment and was glaring at him.

"I would caution you, Carlisle. You may be a friend of the Volturi, but the Starling family is very powerful, and far greater power lies within their veins than you would ever know. I am Athenadora, the Volturi prophet, and I can assure you very personally, that Aristeo Gabriel Starling is not a man to be angered nor are his children people that you want to be your enemies. The castle is not a place to take risks, for the Chimera is not the only thing that has spawned from his bloodline, nor is his bloodline broken easily." Carlisle hmphed.

"I care not for your petty threats, Athenadora."

"She doesn't threaten." Gabriel had stood by now. "She guarantees. She is Queen Athenadora and you will respect her."

"Be at peace, Prince Gabriel. I can handle him. As for Marissa, is that really a battle that you want to fight? After all, she is Hecate's mage. She alone wields the power to call gods and goddesses into battle, to fight against her enemies. I would tread very carefully, Carlisle. She can Hades down upon you and your coven, and don't think for a moment that she won't. While she is merciful, she is, as they have called her in the past, Victoria, the Mage of both Light and Dark Majycs. And it is, truly, the dark majyc that you should fear. It is the same majyc that birthed the Chimera, and the Chimera's abilities far exceed anyone in this castle. The Chimera, he has the strength of Marcus and the knowledge of Aro and the anger of Caius. He is quick tongued, but he is smart. And above all, it is he alone that rules the Volturi Guard, and I would be careful of my words, Dr. Cullen, because he is in this room, and he is not happy with you."

"I have no fear of anything Aro could spawn." Carlisle muttered. "As you so delicately put it. And I have no reason to ever want to return the Volturi. A big lot of show horses you've become, but there's no force behind your sweet words." Gabriel lashed out, bringing down the mage disguised as the good doctor Cullen in an instant. His bite left a wound oozing with blood, and Gabriel was so kind to snap the mage's neck, letting the body drop to the floor roughly.

"The guard will be doubled. No one gets in the castle without my approval, and no one leaves without being escorted by one or two of the guard. This is my war, and hence, you will leave the kings and queens out of it. I'm sure they have enough problems of their own. Calypso, you will serve as General Grand Mistress of the Elements, so please do have that seal removed from your stomach. Hazel, you will serve as Healer of the Guard. Amaranth, you will serve at my side with your fire and flame abilities. No vampire on this earth will not fear you. Justice, Jamison, you will take the place of the Elder Guards. You will serve under my command and do as I order. I want every guard in this place massacred and there will be no questioning that. You will spare Tomas and Tomas alone. The others must be destroyed and the guard will be rebuilt under my command. This is my first order as Prince of the Volturi Guard."


	18. Chapter 18: The Prophet of the Volturi

Athenadora narrowed her eyes. With Gabriel taking the reins of the figurative horse like he was, now would be a prudent time to mention to Aro about her abilities. Picking up the book she had left on the table, she exited the room quietly, the others following in her wake to disappear into parts of the castle, readying to slaughter the guard. She met her husband at the door to Aro's room.

"What's going on love? I swear I just saw the younglings going down to the throne room with rather determined looks. Is something wrong?" Athenadora kissed Caius' cheek softly.

"No, something is very, very right." She laughed at her husband's puzzled look.

"And this concerns Aro why?" He asked softly.

"You'll see." While he only raised an eyebrow at his wife's antics, he trusted her and together they dropped a visit by the reunited pair.

"Congratulations." Aro looked up confused. Marissa only smirked. "You've singlehandedly managed to piss off the Prince of the Volturi Guard." Aro shook his head.

"I don't understand…"

"Why your wife refused treatment? Why she woke up before Carlisle had a chance to do anything? Why anything? Marissa, and correct me if I'm wrong, but you're magic sensitive, are you not? You can tell when you're in danger by the hand of another mage?"

"It's a bit more difficult than what you explained, but yes, that is the gist of it. Mages, any mage really, can have mental communications with each other during periods of rest, or in my case, unconsciousness. He was no different."

"He was a mage disguised as Carlisle. He was going to poison Marissa."

"And he's dead?" Aro asked. Athenadora licked her lips nervously.

"Gabriel snapped his neck. I… ahem, may have been withholding information from the Volturi. I am a prophet of sorts. I am not a seer in the sense that I have visions frequently. But I have written all my visions down, and so far they have not failed to come true." She placed the book in Marissa's hands. The weathered pages fell open the tab of _Chimera_, and Marissa looked up after reading the prophecy.

"Gabriel was never gifted."

"No, no, Gabriel is far more powerful than anyone in this castle. He is the Chimera and anyone and everyone who steps foot in Volterra has reason to fear him and his abilities. He's purging the guard as we speak."

"Why?" Aro asked, "There was nothing wrong with the guard."

"Because how do you think that mage got in this castle? Because someone of lesser experience, of lesser magic experience, let him in the castle. Because ignorance is bliss, Aro. He's not a child anymore. You have to let him grow up and learn things his own way. He's not restricted anymore. There's no daily potion; there's no controlling him. There's not a way. Sure, he favors Marissa and we all know why, but he's your son, and he's got your temper."

Athenadora could tell that by the fact that Caius was standing at the door he was perfectly fine, but there must have been a reason that Didyme never showed up to help Marissa out. She directed her attention to the mage. "So the poison that mage was going to give you, when he realized that you had seen through his disguise, he dropped it by another vampire in this castle, so forgive Didyme not attending to you; she's got her own matters to deal with. You want me to prove a point, Aro? Tell me what color Marcus' eyes are." Athenadora watched her brother's face pale significantly. It would take a tank to take out Marcus which is exactly what the poison was. If she predicted it correctly, Marcus would be dying of malnourishment, and his eyes would be clear, and the only way he could survive for the ongoing of seven months would be to drink animal blood. He would be significantly weaker than his usual self, but it was the only way.

Aro darted from the room, running towards Marcus' wing of the castle, Athenadora retreating to the blood vault downstairs to pick up the different blood types. She quickly returned to Marissa who had set up a mixing table for the prophet.

"Poor Marcus." Marissa said softly, watching Athenadora from the bed. Athenadora nodded.

"Aye, that's true. It would have had no effect on you, but for some reason, it takes down a tank like Marcus."

"May I visit?" Marissa asked.

"Oh well, of course."

**Far across the castle…**

Didyme was panicking when Marcus was not able to be roused from his slumped position over his desk. She was so engrossed in her worry that she failed to see the needle marks against his neck, the blossoming yellow purple bruise being hidden by his long hair. His temperature was higher than usual, beads of sweat forming on his temple.

By the time Aro had reached the other wing of the castle, Didyme had managed to move Marcus to their quarters, his form racked with terrible spasms. She moved to his side, no idea of what had hit him. She was now aware of the ugly bruise on the side of his neck, the tri-puncture marks hidden by the shade of deep purple. Aro circled the bed, coming to a rest on the side that didn't house his sister. Marcus was an absolute fortress. For something as simple as a poison to take him down, it must have been designed to take down a herd of elephants.

Athenadora helped Marissa along, although the mage was able to walk by herself, she was still weakened by malnutrition. The mage saw the bruise on Marcus' neck and the puncture marks beneath it without even trying.

"He was poisoned?" She asked Athenadora.

"Indeed but by what?" Athenadora replied, knowing well the answer.

"Draconic. It would be the only thing powerful to overpower Marcus, not to mention that three pronged puncture mark would fit a Draconian mage's usual shot weaponry. It's heavy enough to pierce through a dragon's hide, so it would have no trouble going through his skin. It's odd. Draconian mage's aren't usually out for hire, number one, and number two, Draconians are distantly related to vampires."

"Odd indeed." Athenadora said.


End file.
